Leaving Nevermore Behind -How to Work Effectively With Your Attorney
The Alan Parsons Project was an innovative 1970s British progressive rock group known for creating elaborate studio productions around a central theme. The project was the brainchild of recording engineer and producer Alan Parsons (who did engineering work on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon) and songwriter Eric Woolfson.
I hadn’t thought about that band for many years until I noticed a huge black bird perched on a windowsill nearby while enjoying my morning java at my favorite coffee shop. The bird was much larger than the birds I usually see hopping around looking for crumbs, and it had a heavy bill, shaggy feathers around its throat. The bird’s made me a little uneasy. It had a presence that made it hard to ignore, particularly given that it seemed to be glaring at me from just a few feet away. I took a picture and based on photos I found on the Internet, I believe it was a raven.
Once someone mentions a raven in Maryland, either the Baltimore football team or Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem comes to mind. Given my limited knowledge of professional football, my mind went to Poe’s poem. Being a musician, I started thinking about Alan Parsons Project’s first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, which was inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, particularly the track “Raven.”
Poe’s poem creates a sense of fear and dread through a visit from a Raven who says only the word “Nevermore.” The Project’s song creates a similar feeling through a recurring three-beat bass pattern that begins to sound like the word “nevermore.” No matter what question the poem’s narrator asks, the Raven’s response is the same. And in the song, the bass remains the same, saying “nevermore” over and over while at times seeming to disregard both melody and harmony.
The legal business is a service business. Business attorneys use their expertise to gather information from the client and evaluate the best way to lawfully accomplish the client’s goals.
The attorney-client relationship should be a collaborative one. The attorney seeks to understand the client’s goals and advise the client of the pros and cons of various options. While the client has the final decision, the relationship only works when the client enters the relationship with an open mind and is willing to at least consider that it might not be advisable to proceed in a specific manner.
However, sometimes clients come to an attorney with a “nevermore” mentality. They’ve made up their mind. Maybe they’ve asked AI or done their own legal research or asked a friend who had a similar situation. Regardless of the source, the client enters the attorney’s office set on the end result – in effect, their answer to every question or suggestion from the attorney is like the Raven’s, is unfaltering. This article discusses how attorneys and clients can work together to find customized solutions that best meet the client’s goals.
More Questions than Answers
Imagine four musicians starting a collaboration. June is a singer/songwriter; Alex plays the drums; Marci is a keyboard player and songwriter who can sing harmony in a pinch; and Storm is a singer/songwriter/guitar player. They plan to perform their own songs and maybe a few covers at small, local venues.
They decided to split everything equally and asked AI to write a band agreement for them. But before signing it, June suggests that they have a music attorney review the agreement.
After addressing conflict of interest issues, the attorney asks the group some questions. Who will own the copyrights in the songs and recordings? Who is responsible for handling bookings, finances, and other administrative tasks? Who will own any equipment purchased from the band’s funds? Who will own the rights to the group’s name and social media accounts? Will a member who departs the band still receive residual income? How will you break tie votes?
Alex and Marci abruptly tell the attorney, “We’ve already had AI write the agreement. We’re splitting everything equally. We just need you to make it legal.”
The attorney is trying to help the band members plan for potential future developments and to prevent disputes that could destroy the relationship. But like the Raven’s “nevermore,” some of the band members have already made up their minds; they aren’t open to collaboration.
Let’s change the facts. Instead of a band, suppose June, Alex, Marci, and Storm are planning a video game startup. June and Alex already have a storyboard and have plotted the game, formed an LLC, and provided the seed money. They are expecting Marci to refine the code and Storm to help secure investors, handle copyrights, and market the product. They have agreed to split the income equally.
They download a standard LLC operating agreement from a popular Internet site, but as with the band June, suggests they have a business attorney to approve the agreement before they sign it. That’s how they present it to the attorney – that they are looking for the attorney’s blessing, not advice.
The attorney, however, has concerns that what’s “standard” for a computer form might not fit the group’s plans. For instance, the agreement doesn’t provide a way to break a deadlock in the event of a tie vote. The attorney points out that a deadlock can cripple a business at a time when it needs momentum.
Then, there are the plans for the future. It sounds like only June, Alex, and Marci will contribute to the copyrightable product, but the agreement is silent on who owns the copyrights and how royalties and licensing will be determined. The attorney recommends the parties decide how they want to address this.
And the agreement makes individual voting members fiduciaries to members of the LLC. The attorney recommends the parties consider waiving that right given the nature of their business.
Then, there are the “what if” questions. What if a member decides to leave, becomes disabled, or dies? What if one member isn’t pulling their weight – can they be kicked out? If one member leaves, what rights do they have? Will there be buy-sell rights that allow the other members to buy out a departing member? Can the members sell their interests to someone else and force the members into business with a stranger? Or, will they first have to offer them to the other members?
The attorney is only trying to set the business up for long-term success. These are all questions that are easy to agree to when the business is new. But it’s much harder to work these items out after they arise. But some members have a “nevermore” mindset and think a “standard” form is good enough and don’t want to make any changes.
Forms May Be Standard; Business Relationships Aren’t
Both of these examples reveal a fundamental misunderstanding most non-attorneys have about contracts. There are standard forms. But most business relationships aren’t standard.
Standard forms are designed as a starting point for lawyers to work from. But with the proliferation of online legal forms and AI, many people believe the standard form is the finish line, rather than the starting gate.
Software may have questions that help customize standard forms, but the result is still a variation on the standard form.AI also can customize legal forms, but AI depends on the instructions it's given. Attorneys have years of experience and may be able to draft an AI query that enables AI to produce an agreement that comes close to meeting a client’s unique needs.
However, AI is like a law clerk or paralegal – the attorney needs to closely supervise it and review its work before using it. Rarely will a client who isn’t an attorney be able to guide a computerized form or AI to create an agreement that meets their needs.
This doesn’t mean attorneys should eschew standard forms or AI. Both are valuable tools that can aid in creating legal documents – when in the right hands. Chainsaws and scalpels are also valuable tools. But handing me a chainsaw won’t make me a lumberjack, nor will giving me a scalpel transform me into a surgeon. And in the wrong hands, the tools can be dangerous.
Self-Diagnosis
The “nevermore” mentality appears in other professional settings. Imagine someone going to a doctor after spending several evenings researching symptoms online. They’ve read articles, compared lists of symptoms, and asked an AI program to analyze what they’re experiencing. They asked a friend who was diagnosed last year with the condition they believe they have and are convinced they have the same thing.
By the time the patient arrives at their doctor appointment, they are convinced they know they have appendicitis. They believe they just need to tell their doctor their diagnosis and have the doctor schedule surgery. When the doctor instead starts asking questions and recommending tests, the patient accuses the doctor of trying to run up their bill.
However, a responsible physician won’t simply accept a diagnosis, much less perform surgery, because the patient researched it carefully and AI and a friend confirmed it. The doctor’s years of experience have taught them that the same symptoms can be caused by several different conditions, not all of which require surgery.
That’s why the physician asks questions that seem unrelated. There may be blood tests, imaging, cultures, a physical examination, or other diagnostic work. Only after the doctor has a better understanding of the patient’s condition will they recommend a treatment.
Once the doctor recommends a treatment, it’s up to the patient to decide whether to undergo the treatment. But if the patient refuses to answer the doctor’s questions or undergo recommended tests, then the patient will never know their likely diagnosis and treatment options. It’s that information that enables the patient to make an informed decision about their care.
Attorneys Only Advise
Legal advice is similar. The attorney’s questions are like the tests and imaging a physician might order. By being willing to answer the attorney’s questions and listen to the advice, the client will have more information and be better able to make an informed decision.
I tell my clients that attorneys only provide legal advice; we don’t force clients to follow our advice. Sometimes there are several options, each with different risks, pros, and cons. It’s my job to inform the client of those options and decide which risks they are willing to accept.
An attorney might think that a business direction is unnecessarily risky. Still, if the client understands the risk and wants to proceed anyway (and it’s not illegal), the attorney can help the client accomplish that goal with as little risk as possible. That’s not the same as saying “nevermore.”
Beyond Nevermore
Poe’s raven, which remains perched above the chamber door, giving the same “nevermore” answer no matter what the narrator asks. A client who has done some initial reading online to learn the basics can save time and money. But in doing so, the client should move beyond “nevermore” and listen to the recommendations that come from their attorney’s years of training and experience.
When doing their research, clients should be mindful that legal forms and AI are tools. Even though they may sound very authoritative and certain of a direction, they don’t provide legal advice (most of them even say that in a disclaimer). And those tools don’t do a great job of providing the customized legal documents that most clients need.
Clients are always free to make their own decisions, even when that means not following their attorney’s advice. Often, an attorney might even offer options for the client to choose from. But when a client enters the attorney’s office with a single answer like Poe’s raven, they limit their ability to make the best decision for their unique circumstances.
© 2026 by Elizabeth A. Whitman
Any references to clients and their legal situations have been modified to protect client confidentiality.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. No one should take any action regarding the information in this blog without first seeking the advice of an attorney. Neither reading this blog nor communication with Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC or Elizabeth A. Whitman creates an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship will exist with Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC or any attorney affiliated with it unless a written contract is signed by all parties.